Clever and Cool Does Not Exclude Cautious

The social media environment can be a tricky one to navigate for businesses. After all, you don't want to simply be seen as shoving your brand down people's throat. You want to showcase the personality of the people within the brand and humanize your operation.

But there are so many lines of which you have to be aware, ranging from how you want to position your brand, to whether or not you're welcome in a conversation, to how readers interpret your efforts, that it's important to take a few extra moments before you put words in your company's mouth.

The Question Is Not About Whether People Should Be Offended

You can argue until you're blue in the face about whether or not people should be offended by a particular comment or Tweet you've made (something we've seen repeatedly over the past few weeks in regards to how people are commemorating celebrity deaths, for instance). The fact of the matter is that people can and will get offended even if your intentions were honourable.

So it becomes a risk/reward. Is your tribute, joke, pithy comment really worth the potential backlash? That's a company-by-company decision.

However, there are some key questions to ask -- the biggest being, "Why?"

As in, "Why are you posting this?" "Why does it demand the inclusion of my brand's voice?" "Why do people want to hear what we have to say on this topic."

Let's look at Cinnabon's tribute to Carrie Fisher. It was clearly an intended-to-be-cute tribute to her iconic "bun" hairstyle from Star Wars. But the backlash was swift and visceral. And understandable.

After all, why did Cinnabon feel the need to comment? Why did they include a picture of their product in the image? Why did they post when they did, instead of letting a period of mourning pass? Their answer would likely includes like "homage" and "tribute," but to the average reader, it smacks of crass commercialism.

Take a moment, consider whether someone could reasonably be expected to be offended or hurt by your post, then determine whether the risk is worth any potential reward.

Remember, Your Thoughts Really Aren't Your Own

People still put statement on their Twitter feeds to the effect of, "this is my personal account. My thoughts don't reflect my employer." Unfortunately, that really does not indemnify you from your content. We all represent the people with whom we're affiliated, so bear that burden accordingly.

Put it this way. If you, as a Canadian, go to a foreign land and act all boorishly, you're going to have an impact on how the people you interact with view Canadians as a whole. Sure, they'll know you may be an ass, and they'll know that not all Canadians are boorish louts, but it will have an impact.

Same goes for your social presence. People intuitively will know not every statement you make is a comprehensive reflection of your company. But in some small way, their overall impression could diminish a bit...

Which Also Goes in Reverse

There's a huge reason why we, at Echidna, choose to be fairly neutral in our commentary on politics and other social issues -- we don't believe that we have the right, as a company, to conscript the voices of our employees.

Not everyone who works for you believes in the same thing, supports the same party, or has the same views. And there are those who will feel that they can't speak up against or question a stance, because it's the corporate line.

That's not to say we're not political. Far from it. We have a number of people who are actively involved in the community -- and we all don't believe the same thing. We want to make things better, make a better community, and improve the living and working conditions for everyone -- but we feel this type of change is best affected through apolitical politics.

Now this is just the way we do it. It's not to say that those businesses who take active public stands on issues are right or wrong. There's no real right answer here. It comes down to who you are and what you want to do.

The issue is not black-and-white. Like most things in life, there are not absolutes. Sometimes there are issues that can lead a company to use its collective voice (an example of which is reflected in Sergey Brin's position statement from 2008 on Prop. 8). There are times when it's the right thing to do. But, as reflected by Brin's statement on "diversity of people and opinions" within in a company, it's vital that companies take into consideration the impact on all of their employees.

Run it By Someone Else

I try not to be offensive in my writing -- and I take that responsibility extremely seriously when representing a corporate interest or speaking in its voice. However, there are times where I think something may be clever or amusing, but I question whether or not it's approaching a line that I don't want to cross.

So what can you do? Most companies don't have the luxury of multiple people in social media content roles. There rarely is an approval process (conversely, those that do have them tend to be serpentine approval networks that serve to suck the soul out of original content... but I digress), so there's a lot of responsibility on one person.

Especially in an on-line environment where any social media faux-pas is met with instant vitriol and, often, calls for dismissal, it's important to vet what you write.

After all, sometimes we get so enamoured with what we write that we can't see the forest for the trees. A second set of eyes helps. Ask a colleague to give your content the ol' once-over. Often a neutral third-party who doesn't have an investment in a piece of content can provide a much-needed perspective. Simply showing a friend your phone with a yet-to-be-published Tweet can save you a lot of potential headaches. Mistakes happen, but it's easier to prevent unintentional offences before you click send. 

If In Doubt, Go Without

If something is questionable to you, the writer, it may be best to leave it on the cutting room floor.

You know that feeling in your gut, when you write something that may cause an issue? It's the literary equivalent to telling a joke that elicits those shaking-head groans, as opposed to laughs. You may cause a reaction, but not the one you want.

It's generally always better to err on the side of caution when using your corporate voice.

This all doesn't mean you need to neuter your content. You don't need to strip all personality out of your on-line voice -- but make sure it accurately reflects who you are. There's a danger in trying to be something you're not -- you lose your authenticity. You can be clever, you can have humour, and you can humanize your brand.

Just make sure you do it the right way.